The Associated PressOSU quarterback Sean Mannion has called the postponement of Nicholls State a blessing in disguise.

CORVALLIS -- Oregon State coach Mike Riley is often referred to as the nicest and most optimistic guy in college football, so it makes sense that his glass-half-full mentality would rub off on his players.

Don’t be fooled -- the Beavers are frustrated and disappointed and sick of practice after their opener against Nicholls State was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac. But in typical Oregon State fashion, they’re putting a positive spin on things.

When we first found out (the game was postponed) it was a tough pill to swallow but it could be a gift from God," said cornerback Jordan Poyer. "Maybe it's Him telling us we need to practice a little more before we're ready."

Here’s the thing about blessings in disguise though: When they finally reveal themselves to you, you’d better take advantage. And this time will be a blessing only if Oregon State uses the extra practice to fine-tune and eliminate all the mistakes that haunted the Beavers last year.

For as much talk as there’s been about a lack of a run game in 2011 -- and it’s a legitimate criticism, to be sure -- OSU also shot itself in the foot multiple times with mental mistakes and dumb penalties. On the season, OSU compiled 89 penalties for 824 yards, an average of almost 70 per game. Some of those were probably unavoidable; when you play young guys, you’re bound to have some rookie miscues. But that excuse can’t be used again this season.

“I think a lot of people look at that 35-0 score and think we got blown out, but outside people don’t understand it was closer than it appeared,” Poyer said of last season's game at Wisconsin. “We were ready for them, but as the game went on we made so many mental mistakes. Those are mistakes we have to fix this time.”

Typically, players use first games to get all those gaffes out of their system. OSU missed that opportunity through no fault of its own. Wisconsin had its opener, though by barely squeaking by Northern Iowa 26-21 it makes you wonder if how deserving the Badgers are of that No. 12 preseason ranking. Riley and Poyer have talked candidly about Oregon State being at an advantage because Wisconsin won’t have any video of them from the
first week to analyze. So maybe the Badgers will be caught off guard by Mannion’s
improvement and Storm Woods’ explosive running and Tyrequek Zimmerman’s emergence in the secondary.

Remember that Riley loves these big games and brutal tests for his players early in the season. For years he and athletic director Bob De Carolis have drawn criticism for stacking OSU’s nonconference schedule with bowl-bound teams instead of cupcakes, often contributing to a bad September record. Riley has a reputation for being fearless, if a little overly ambitious.

This season the Beavers tried to start off easy, and instead got a different set of problems when Nicholls State was postponed. Riley laughed about that last week, saying, “You can’t count on anything, can you?”

“I do love these kind of games,” he said. “It’s hard, but it’s good for our program. It’s awesome to get them here ... and I think the fans love it.” The Wisconsin game is unique now because it’s so isolated on the schedule; after this the Beavers have a bye before kicking off Pac-12 play at UCLA on Sept. 22. By the time the Badgers roll into Corvallis Oregon State will have practiced 32 times without a game.

That’s plenty of prep time to try to do something special in your home stadium.